Washington Supreme Court tosses out state’s death penalty [Barf Alert]

AP News ^ | 10/11/2018 | Rachel La Corte

[fwdude]

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state’s Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty violates its Constitution.

The ruling Thursday makes Washington the latest state to do away with capital punishment. The justices said the “death penalty is invalid because it is imposed in an arbitrary and racially.” They ordered that people currently on death row have their sentences converted to life in prison.

[fwdude]

Whatever you think of the death penalty, know that the left is staunchly against it, so you'd better take that into account if you're opposed as well.

[fwdude]

Leftists are crowing “States’ rights!” over this, ignoring all the other incidences of intrusion of the federal government in state affairs.

[Still Thinking]

The justices said the “death penalty is invalid because it is imposed in an arbitrary and racially.”

That's a capital grammar crime, right there.

[fwdude]

Yeah, and this is AP, supposedly the "authority" in sound reporting.

Author must be a '-studies' major.

[stylin19a]

how it’s imposed makes the law unconstitutional ?

[Steely Tom]

how it’s imposed makes the law unconstitutional ?

I guess we shouldn't have any laws at all.

[Still Thinking]

I'm actually fine with that. If the issues where libs would benefit [in some states] cause them to join a critical mass in favor of weakening the feral leviathan and moving toward a Constitutional balance between feral and state power, I'm cool with it.

So long as the mechanism isn't such that as soon as tyrants have retaken the feral goobermint, all the changes evaporate. I'm willing to let them make their states into shitholes (hint: they already are), to ensure freedom from excessive feral intrusion for normal people in normal states.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Yeah, this is pretty much a wash.

Some states have the death penalty and some don’t. Michigan has not had it since 1846. It is up to the residents of that state to decide if they wish to deal with the increased costs of incarceration and/or higher crime rates.

[\/\/ayne]

It's a form of societal self-defense. By killing the murderer we insure that no other prisoners are murdered and/or that the murderer doesn't escape and kill on the outside. These murders do happen.

The next time one of them happens in Washington we know who to point the finger of blame at (after that murderer, of course.)

[fwdude]

The population centers of WA state ARE shitholes, literally. I had a relative come visit us in Texas from Seattle and her surprised comment was that she felt unusually safe. At a park we visited, I suggested leaving the car unlocked (it was always in view) and she was alarmed that I’d even suggest that. She told me that nowhere in Seattle could you do that; so extensive were the drug addict criminals looking for a quick score.

[rellimpank]

—Wisconsin is another one—no death penalty since statehood in 1848-—and had a near negligible homicide rate until Chicagoans started self-importing due to lax welfare laws—

[NormsRevenge]

I’m sure all the victims and their survivors agree.. Justice is blind, yaknow.

[cdcdawg]

Sounds like a Washington (state) problem. The problem is that leftists will support this example of a state exercising its rights, while simultaneously agitating for the elimination of the Electoral College.

[davidb56]

So now they are pro constitution....except for the Second amendment.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

So much for precedent.

[MeganC]

Just myself but I object to the death penalty in cases where the case is in part or in whole based upon circumstantial evidence or solely upon eyewitness testimony.

It’s simply too easy for prosecutors to make stuff up or bribe some jailhouse ‘witness’ into making false testimony about confessions that never took place.

[i_robot73]

>
So now they are pro constitution....except for the Second amendment.
>

Try the 5th/13th instead. At least w/ the 2nd, there’s Const. carry vs. may\shall issue.

NONE, that I’m aware of, have ZERO ‘welfare’ (aka economic slavery).

[D_Idaho]

Well, of course they did.

[jazusamo]

The court was unanimous, every one should be voted out when they come up for reelection.

CHIEF JUSTICE MARY E. FAIRHURST	ASSOCIATE CHIEF JUSTICE CHARLES W. JOHNSON	JUSTICE BARBARA A. MADSEN
JUSTICE SUSAN OWENS	JUSTICE DEBRA L. STEPHENS	JUSTICE CHARLES K. WIGGINS
JUSTICE STEVEN C. GONZÁLEZ	JUSTICE SHERYL McCLOUD	JUSTICE MARY I. YU

[Vigilanteman]

I'm not OK with a state supreme court legislating from the bench.

Washington State Supreme Court has just declared that the lives of capital criminal are more valuable than their citizens.

Back in the day when rapists were subjected to capital punishment (real rapists, not just the accused), society rightly decided that this needed to be dailed down because it could put the victim's life in jeporday since the perp might feel there was nothing further to lose and he would be less likely to get caught if he added murder to rape.

That's not the case here. The Washington Supremes have declared that no matter how many of our citizens you murder in whatever vicious manner, we still won't kill you back.

The legislature should make that declaration if they have the votes to do so.